FATAL FIRE AT THAMES

Gisborne Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1478, 12 June 1905, Page 3

FATAL FIRE AT THAMES

DESTRUCTION; OH BRIAN BORO HQTEL', .WEIiL-KNOWN BUSINESS MAN BURNT TO DEATH,

A ’•BUSHMAN' ALSO PERISHES, - THRILLING EXPERIENCES OP. ' THE OTHER INMATES. ' • ESCAPE IN NIGHT CLOTHES—LOSE EVERYTHING,

(Per Press Association.) THAMES, last! night. At threo this morning tho Brian Bom Hotel, a two-storied, building, containing over forty rooms,! .was discovered jjo be on lire. The lire commerced in the largo eastern, .wing,

The dames spread with; lightninglike rapidity, along the passage pi the upper story, reiidoring the escape of the occupants didlpult. The dre had obtainod a firm hold When .the Brigade' appeared, and was only suppressed .when tho whole of the upjper portion had been destroyed, Tho lower part' was completely, gutted.

All the inmates except two succeeded in escaping, ■ Many; were only, clad in .theixj night -apparel, John McNiab, a member, of tho firm of Mason and MeNab,. tho welli.- nmvn xu,oi-u.moi::LiuL Treasons o£ AiucS—land, was one of the victims, and the other was Joseph Sheldon, Who was a bushman from Twa district, near Thames, - .The bedrooms occupied by them W.eifi both situated in the portion .of .the building where .the fire raged, tpe fiercest. When the fire had been overcome, bodies of the ‘unfortunate men .were discovered in the rooms.

MoNab was Martly. dressed. He had evidently been endeavoring ‘to reach the door, and wan overcome *'hy the suhoeating fumes, to which ho succumbed., The body, which) was found alongside the pad, was partly burnt. *•. Sheldon must have been -asphyxiated with greater suddenness, Tho toady was found lying acro’Ss the .bed, and was only, slightly burnt. .£j McNab was about ‘fifty years .old. He leaves a, Wife and. family, inAuckland, Sheldgn was a single man, and. is believed to have no relatives ip the ‘’Colony, Many of the inmates bad, narrow, escapes. They lost everything, including a. goodly quantity flf jewellery and ya= iuables. The hotel) Whs owned and occupied bjfry Kate TwohiU,, an old resident of the Thames, The hotel was Only rebuilt a few months ago, y- The insurances on the building and furniture are sot available.